ArchivesApril 2012

The dramatic hit-and-run collision last week between a car and two cyclists on Tunnel Road in Berkeley that was captured on video drew a widespread response — both from within and outside the cycling community. Writing in Berkeleyside’s Opinionator section, Renee Rivera, Executive Director of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, says that, while the video was scary, it is worth knowing that this is an extremely rare type of collision. Read her thoughts on bicycle safety.

We at the East Bay Bicycle Coalition are glad to see that swift action has been taken by the Berkeley and Oakland police departments to catch the suspect in last Wedsnesday’s hit-and-run collision on Tunnel Road in Berkeley. We are also relieved that these two cyclists got away with only abrasions and damage to their bikes. This unusual collision could have been much worse.

On Friday, John Paluska will throw open the heavy steel doors to his ambitious new restaurant, Comal, which he hopes will become a magnet for local residents and a cultural incubator. “I see it as a big tent that I hope will become the heart of the community,” he said last week as he stood in the expansive, airy space at 2020 Shattuck Avenue, overseeing a plethora of pre-launch preparations.

Earlier this month it was revealed that several students at Berkeley High School had hacked into the school’s computerized attendance system using a teacher’s password and made unauthorized adjustments to attendance records. Four students instigated the scam which involved, in some cases, selling absence clearances to around 50 students. Suspensions followed and talk of expulsion in two cases.

At Berkeley High School recently, 32 students were suspended for breaking into the school’s digital attendance system and changing records for absences and tardiness. The irregularities, which started in October 2011, were only discovered in December, when the new dean of attendance intensified his efforts on improving attendance by focusing on these records. Since attendance contributes to the grades of students, as well as to whether or not a student graduates from Berkeley High, the motivation for changing a spotty attendance record might seem obvious.

Citizen reporter Gisele Frazão Teixeira shot these photos yesterday at the Berkeley Marina of a Blue Heron spying, catching, and flying away with its prey. Never let it be said that Berkeley isn’t a wildlife enthusiast’s nirvana.